After Vishnu saved the world from
deluge in his Baraha incarnation,Brahma asked him of the means of salvation of
all creatures.Vishnu said, "I am being worshipped as Nilamadhava on the Blue
Hill in Purushottama Khetra, Puri.The highest form of salvation could be attained by
beholding me there." This was a cause of apprehension to Yama,the God of
death,as he could not discharge his duties properly.On Yama's request Vishnu
assured him to disappear from the Blue Hill after some days.
The sacred Rohini Kunda was situated
to the west of the all bestowing kalpa-vriksa whose branches had spread of
Nilamadhava was situated to the west of the Kunda,known to all excepting the
Savara who worshipped him and the Gods who came to pay their daily oblations at
his altar.In Satyayuga the pious and learned king Indradyumna of the Solar
dynasty ruled in Avanti.He was anxious to see Vishnu.A wandering sannyasin
informed him that God Himself was being worshipped as Purushottama on the Blue
Hill in Odra desh.Indradyumna sent Vidyapati,the brother of his family
priest,to Utkala as his emissary.Vidyapati came to Utkala and settled in a
Savara village situated to the west of the Blue Hill.After being acquainted
with Viswavasu,the fowler,Vidyapati revealed to him the secrets of his mission
and entreated him for a sight of Nilamadhava.He also told the fowler that his
royal master would not touch food until his return.Out of compassion for the
king Viswavasu took Vidyapati through a narrow track and showed him the Shrine
of Nilamadhava.After seeing Nilamadhava Vidyapati returned to Avanti.
In the meanwhile in order to fulfill
His pledge given to Yama,Lord Vishnu made the Shrine of Nilamadhava invisible
under the sand.When Indradyumna accompanied by Narada set out with a vast army
and reached the borders of the Kingdom of Utkala,its King informed him about
the disappearance of Nilamadhava.Indradyumna was completely discheartened with
the news,but sage Narada assured him that God would reappear in the form of
Daru (a log of wood).Thus being consoled Indradyumna visited the Blue Hill and
offered a thousand aswamedha sacrifices there.
On the closing day of the aswamedha
sacrifice Nilamadhava appeared to Indradyumna in a vision and at his bathing
time the attendants came and informed him that a Daru with four branches was
flating on the sea.The King with due ceremony brought the Daru and placed it on
the Mahavedi.While discussing with Narada about fashioning the log into an
image,the king heared a voice from heaven saying, "God Himself will make His
own image.The aged carpenter standing with his tools should be maintained about
the construction of the image." Things were arranged accordingly and at the end
of the allotted time Jagannath,Balabhadra,Subhadra and Sudarsana appeared on
the Mahavedi.Being directed by a voice from heaven the king adorned the images
with silken cloth and painted them with their respective colours.He also built
a temple one thousand cubits high to install the images.
Indradyumna went to heaven to invite
Brahma to consecrate the temple.Brahma was listening to music,and the time that
intervened amounted to many ages of mortal like.In the meanwhile a king named
Gala had taken possession of the temple and was worshipping an image of Madhava
in it.at last Brahma came.Indradyumna and Gala were reconciled to each other
and the image of Madhava was shifted to a smaller temple.Brahma consecrated the
temple and the images.After leaving the temple in charge of Gala,indradyumna
proceeded to Brahmaloka.
A slightly different version of the
story is found in the musali parva of the Mahabharata written by the great 15th
century oriya poet Sarala Das.According to him Narayan or Savirnarayana was
being worshipped by the Savaras in the forest and being informed about it,king
Galamadhava of Kanchi proceeded to the Savara village to take possession of the
deity.But the deity had disappeared in the meanwhile.King Galamadhava was angry
with the Savaras thinking that they had hideen the deity,and waged a war
against them.He had killed all the Savaras,excepting one,when the voice of
Vishnu from heaven asked him to desist from the holocaust as the Savaras were
His great devotees.God Vishnu also cursed Galamadhava that his entire line
would be extinct.The story of Indradyumna begins after this.Lord Krishna was
killed by the arrow of Jara,a foeler.Arjuna consigned the body of Krishna to
flames,but the flames could not consume it.Being directed by a voice from
Heaven Arjuna threw the body of Lord Krishna into the sea, and at length it
floated in the form of a Daru to Mulasundara on the shores of the sea.Jara had
followed the body of krishna along the sea-coast.King Indradyumna,knowing that
Vishnu will appear at nilagiri (the bule hill),had constructed a temple there
with the help of the Bramhin Viswavasu.Krishna informed Jara on a dream that He
would appear in Rohini Kunda in the shape of Daru (log of wood).Indradyumna got
the information from Jara and sent his men to lift the Daru from Rohini
Kunda,but all his efforts failed.Then being directed by the Lord in a vision
Indradyumna employed the services of Jara,the fowler; and Vasu,the Brahmin ;who
jointly lifted the Daru from Rohini Kunda.Jara and Viswakarma together
fashioned the log into the three images of Balabhadra,Subhadra and Jagannath
who,according to [oet Sarala's version,stood for Siva,Brahma and Vishnu
respectively.
